CRITICS' CHOICE; A Debut Juggles Genres Aplenty

By JON CARAMANICA

Published: April 28, 2008

PHIL VASSAR
''Prayer of a Common Man''
(Universal South)

A bruiser with a tender touch at the piano, Phil Vassar has long been torn between sensitivity and machismo. On ''Prayer of a Common Man,'' this versatile country singer's fourth album, the tug of war is over. The soft has it.

Few in country focus on feelings quite as intently as Mr. Vassar, and hanging over the album is the specter of his recent divorce from his songwriter wife, Julie, with whom he wrote two heartbreakers here, ''It's Only Love'' and ''Let Me Love You Tonight.'' Though there are a couple of jubilant moments on a par with his mischievous 2004 hit ''I'll Take That as a Yes (The Hot Tub Song)'' -- the 1950s swing of ''Why Don't Ya,'' and the common-man lament ''The World Is a Mess,'' which sounds transplanted from a Broadway stage -- Mr. Vassar mostly finds ways to be wistful.

But while he's an affable vocalist, he's not especially subtle. So there is the occasional disconnect between his often strong songwriting (he began his career as a writer, contributing to No. 1 country hits for stars like Tim McGraw and Alan Jackson) and his sometimes brusque delivery. ''I Would,'' a crisp song about a relationship gone sour, would be better slowed down; ''Around Here Somewhere'' is elegantly constructed -- ''What's become of our two hearts?/Lately we just play the parts'' -- but it's disorientingly uptempo, a forced grin through pain.

Following the generic guitar-driven arrangements that precede it, the warm piano on the pleading ballad ''Let Me Love You Tonight'' comes as a relief. Here Mr. Vassar flaunts his fluid way with melody -- ''You said it was easy/To be you with me/It's gonna hurt, believe me/But I'm gonna set you free'' -- and at the chorus he effortlessly skips up an octave. It's the hungriest moment on the album, and the calmest one too: it's when he's down that he's most at ease. JON CARAMANICA